The court found that Mr Hunt had failed to heed advice about threats to those species and blocked the mine from operating until fresh approval was granted.

On Thursday, Mr Hunt said the conditions he had imposed upon the Carmichael mine and its rail infrastructure project took into account "issues raised by the community and ensure that the proponent (Adani) must meet the highest environmental standards".

Some of the conditions Adani will have to meet in order for mining to proceed include the protection and improvement of 31,000 hectares of special wildlife habitat and A$1m of funding for research programmes to improve conservation of threatened species in the area over the next 10 years.

In an emailed statement, Adani said it welcomed Thursday's announcement saying it "makes clear that these concerns have been addressed, reflected in rigorous and painstaking conditions".

'Grossly irresponsible'

However, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) spoke out against the approval of the mine and railway project.

Image copyrightEric VanderduysImage caption
A secretive lizard called the Yakka Skink was one of the species that led to the Australian Federal Court's August decision

"To approve a massive coal mine that would make species extinct, deplete 297 billion litres of precious groundwater and produce 128.4 million tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide) a year is grossly irresponsible," said ACF president Geoff Cousins.

"At a time when the world is desperately seeking cleaner energy options this huge new coal mine will make the effort to combat climate change all the more difficult," he added.

The ACF said the mine would produce more climate pollution than New Zealand's entire annual emissions.

The mine and railway project are situated in the Galilee Basin in the central Queensland region, some 300km (186 miles) inland.